Answers still needed on deadly Benghazi attack

The failure of the Gazette, along with several other media, to adequately cover the Benghazi attack of Sept. 11, 2012, is disturbing. Along with that lapse, the evasive behavior of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Benghazi hearings caused red flags to be raised that indicate the Obama administration is involved in a cover-up.

The president had referred to the attack as a “bump in the road” in the ongoing Middle East events. Some bump in the road! Four Americans were murdered including our ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens.

Where’s the media outrage? By downplaying the murders, the impression conveyed is that it wasn’t important news. Over four months have gone by since the attack and there is still no evidence of anyone being held accountable for failing to provide consulate security.

Clinton said she takes full responsibility for what happened. That sounds fine and several members of Congress went overboard with comments about her courage in saying so. The problem is, by saying so she was able to evade questions about what actually happened. She said at the hearing, “Nobody knew the dangers more than Chris Stevens.” The question that wasn’t asked: “If he knew the dangers better than anybody else, why didn’t you listen to the several pleas he made for more security?”

Whose idea was it to use the fiction of a video as the reason for the attack? Where was the president during those seven hours? There were no pictures of him and his staff in the Situation Room, as there were when Bin Laden was taken out.

It’s pretty clear that the road that had a bump in it was the one to an election in a couple of months. The Benghazi attack showed that, despite Obama’s repeated remarks that al-Qaida was on the run, the group was very much on the rise. It was inconvenient for him to admit that he was wrong in playing down our presence in Libya by not increasing the security, thereby hurting his chances for re-election.

If John McCain had been president, would the Gazette and other media have covered the story the same way? Would there be the same cover-up?

It seems that Mr. Couch is frustrated at not seeing all news media, including the Gazette, tell a story that fits his beliefs. But, instead of using the open and free opportunity afforded by the Gazette to set the record straight by providing facts that support his theory, Mr. Couch chooses to vilify those whom he believes are participating in his imagined cover-up. Mr. Couch, if you know something that the rest of us should know, please do tell. And next time, provide some facts.